I'm hoping this doesn't come across as political, but it just makes me really sad.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americans-in-canada-driven-to-divorce-from-their-country/article2229969/There have been so many news articles in Canada about the new US tax laws about foreign accounts. Particularly the penalties associated with them and the fact that so many people didn't know that filing taxes as an American was based on citizenship not residency. Not to mention how scared people are of the IRS because they don't know what could happen. For example, the failure to report an account could result in a penalty of 50 percent of the highest historical value of that account and pensions fall under this.
I knew people were scared, but I never realized that people were angry and would renounce their citizenship over this. I know the man in the article mentions privacy concerns, but most that I'm aware of are just confused and frustrated. I know an accountant and the IRS changes the amnesty papers and processing gets complicated when new amenesty rules are in place. Plus the IRS won't really give any information to my friend's firm because they aren't CPAs but are the Canadian equivalent.
I know the new tax laws are trying to identify terrorist activities and money laundering and have a valid purpose. I just feel so sad for the average person caught up in this.